“God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.” ~ Eph 2:10 GNT
I spent a few hours at the beach today. The weather was glorious, an impossibly blue
sky with just a few feathery clouds suspended
on the edges for decoration. It was windy, though: a mini-Nor’easter churned out past the horizon, and the normally unimpressive north Florida surf was on active duty. The waves pushed ashore in random sets, with a big ole’ Granddaddy wave every few minutes to remind the rest of them who was in charge.
Three teenagers arrived soon after I did, and I could tell they were "stoked" by the activity out there. All three prepped their boards and headed into the rough water, bobbing out past the breakers, waiting for some real action. Two of them tried to ride everything with a hint of a curl, while one of the boys sat on his board, watching the swells further out. He was waiting for one of the Granddaddies.
His two companions were having a blast, laughing loudly between wipeouts. He paddled back in and trudged up the beach to a different spot at least six times, then finally pulled his board to the beach and sat on it, watching his friends until they came out of the water, laughing and exhausted.
It made me think about the countless opportunities that Christians have every day to serve God by serving others: once in a while a “big one” presents itself, highly visible and sure to make an impression on all who see. But the smaller ones roll in almost without ceasing. There are those who take advantage of the small-but-plentiful ones, and although some of the opportunities will fizzle (and the occasional one will result in a wipeout), every one we do “ride” is worth the time and effort in our Christian experience. Then… there are those who trudge up the beach over and over, back and forth, intent on scoring that perfectly-shaped, perfectly-timed “granddaddy” of an opportunity to serve. They’ll be like the young man watching his laughing friends from his board in the sand, as he realizes that the ones he could have ridden – the smaller, frequent, rather ordinary ones – have receded like the ebbing tide.
Sisters, some days the “surf" of ministry will be flat, count on it. Other days will bring a bumper crop of chances to make life better for those around us, in even very small and ordinary ways. They don’t have to be “Granddaddy” chances. Who has time to paddle around waiting for those? Not us.
( Cowabunga! )
